The Curse is Lifted: Amalfi Coast!

Ciao! Sorry it has taken me so long to give you an update...travelling has been non-stop and it doesn't help when I don't have wifi for an entire weekend! So, finally this weekend we had nice weather!!! There is no longer an abroad curse on us! On Thursday night we left for the Amalfi Coast. It was about a 7 hour bus ride and we arrived to our hotel in Sorrento at 2:30am. We immediately went to sleep because we had to be up at 6:30 the next morning to catch a ferry ride over to the island of Capri.

Friday, Day 1: We woke up early and got on the bus at 7:15 which took us to the port in Sorrento where we all loaded onto a huge boat that took us over towards Capri. Then from there, our tour group divided into smaller groups and loaded onto smaller boats. We got to take a private tour around the waters of Capri and saw the tunnel of love which is a rock that forms a tunnel and apparently you have to kiss your loved one underneath it. Well, too bad none of us had anyone so I guess were going to have bad luck for like 7 years or something, haha. Then we arrived at the Blue Grotto which is this small opening in the rocks and you take small boats inside and can see the blue waters literally glowing and you are inside a little cave. The four of us loaded into a small boat and even had to lay completely down in the boat so we didn't hit our head while entering the Blue Grotto. It was so cool inside you couldn't anything except the glowing blue water. Then we loaded back onto the boats to continue our trip over to Capri. When we arrived to Capri it was about a 20 minute walk up to the main town. We were so thirsty so we immediately got blood orange and lemon granitas...so delicious! Then we were able to just roam around a bit and take pictures. After that we took a bus up to Ana Capri which is the very top of the island. Up here, we ate lunch at this place recommended by our tour group. Everything was delicious: Colleen and I split spaghetti with clams and a margherita pizza. After lunch we shopped a bit and had some limoncello. Today was warm enough for shorts, but the wind killed us! It was kind of chilly but we decided to still take the chair lift up to the very top. Once you reach the top of the chair lift, you are literally in the clouds and you can't see a thing! We felt like we were in heaven, but the views were absolutely amazing.

View while riding
up the chair lift

View from the top of the chair lift!

After the chair lift, we just sort of roamed around the tiny little town, shopped, had some gelato, and basked in the hot sun...we were enjoying every second of it. We felt like the rain was going to start any second but it never did! We left Capri around 445 and took the boat back to Sorrento. We showered and got ready and then headed into the main town of Sorrento for dinner. We ate at this seafood restaurant that was really good. And afterwards Mikey took us to find this one gelato place she had eaten on her teen tour 4 years ago...and it was so worth it. They had every kind of candy flavored gelato. I got the equivalent of an almond joy flavored gelato called "bounty" with chunks of the candy inside. So good! By now, we were exhausted so we headed back to our hotel to go to sleep.

Day 2, Saturday: We got up at 8:30 and got ready to get on the bus again. We left for Positano around 9:30. It was only like a 40 minute drive and when we got there it was a 30 minute hike down to the beach. We were in our glory when we saw the beach. It was 75 degrees and sunny, what more could we have asked for? We got some sunscreen, bottles of water, and were ready to lay out and do nothing. Then around noon, we were offered the opportunity to get on a boat and go cliff jumping if we wanted to. And we couldn't miss out on that so we took a boat ride over to these cliffs which were actually really high once you got up there! We went in shifts so we could take pictures of each other of course. So while Dana and Colleen jumped Mikey and I stayed back and took pictures. Then Mikey and I climbed and Dana and Colleen took pictures. Of course Mikey made us climb to the second most high jumping spot! But it was so much fun and even though the water was cold it was so worth it.

My view from the beach

View from the walk to the beach

We also got paninis from this place called Vini Panini that was recommended by our tour group. However, we waited in line for over an hour and they definitely weren't worth that long of a wait. Then we laid out again on the beach and we all fell fast asleep. It was so nice to finally just enjoy the warmth and be in a swimsuit! At about 5pm, we got ready to leave Positano and walked back to the buses that took us back to Sorrento. We all took showers and then got ready to go out again for dinner. This time, we went with three of Mikey's friends who happen to be on the same trip with us. We went to this restaurant on a little side street. Colleen and I split mussels and some vegetables and then we went to the same gelato place again, we just couldn't resist. Then we walked around a bit and went back to our hotel to sleep.

Day 3, Sunday: We got up around 9 to get on the bus at 10. We were all packed up and ready to go but we were stopping in Pompei before our final trip home. We got to Pompei around 11 and we had downloaded the Rick Steve's guide to Pompei before hand so we didn't have to pay for the guided walking tour. His guided tour was only like 50 minutes and we got to see pretty much everything we wanted. And it was so beautiful and sunny out that we didn't mind wandering around. We ate lunch at Pompei Pizza and had delicious blood orange juice slushees again. At 3, we left for Florence on the bus, slightly tanner than when we had left so I'd call that a win! We were so happy to have been able to be in the sun and wear shorts and not see a drop of rain for three days! And the nice weather has continued in Florence, just in time for my 21st birthday tomorrow! Tonight we are going out to dinner with some friends across the river to Osteria Santo Spirito and then going to this bar called Art Bar where they are famous for having the most beautiful cocktails. Can't wait for my first LEGAL drink even though I'm in Italy and won't get carded:( And then as if that wasn't already enough, we leave for Paris on Thursday to continue the birthday celebration! Don't worry Mom and Dad I will be safe and Dad, I know your rule! Move the decimal place....2.1 shots instead of 21! We'll see if that happens....

All my love,
Alli